Argentina and Japan will play their second group match against each other on Friday in the women's World Cup.
Despite suffering very different fortunes in their opening matches, the two teams are both firmly focused on claiming all three points and strengthening their claims for a quarter-final spot.
The South Americans could not have got off to a worse start at China 2007, suffering an 11-0 defeat at the hands of Germany. And if they are to keep their stuttering challenge alive going into the final round of group matches, then nothing less than a win against the Japanese will do.
"We know Japan well. They are a fast team who play good football but are not as physical as Germany." Argentina captain Eva Gonzalez said, "It will be a totally different game, nothing to do with what happened in our opening match. We need to win if we want to qualify."
However, Hiroshi Ohashi's charges showed their willpower and tenacity by scoring deep into injury time to steal a precious point against England; another three points here could serve as a significant step towards the last eight.
Just as the Japanese forward Eriko Arakawa said:"I'm not satisfied with the point against England and the next game is now very important. Meanwhile, it was a big boost to score in the last minute. We came back and showed our spirit and it sets us up nicely for Argentina."
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article